The Need for a New Heart
Matthew 21:33-45
DATE: 1
June, 2008 AM
PLACE:
BBC Ballincollig
I.
Introduction (Philp
2:10,11)
A.
Theme this
B.
Fact: Jesus is Lord
C.
Fact: Jesus is Lord whether we
think so or not
D.
Fact: Every knee should bow to
Him as Lord, and every tongue should confess it as true
E.
Problem: People don’t… And I
want to show you why, and show you how to fix it
II.
Parable of the Land Owner (Matthew 21:33-41)
A.
The Land-Owner (21:33)
1.
He owned a vineyard. Planted
it, hedged it, digged a press for the grapes, built a watchtower, hired workers,
and then went back home
2.
This is how large extended
farms were run
3.
The land-owner lived far away
4.
This is God
B.
The Workers (21:33)
1.
These were the people
specially chosen to work that farm
2.
3.
“Workers,” not lazy people who
lived off the land, but worked for the owner
4.
The land and crops/fruit were
not theirs, they were the owners!
5.
These were the religious
leaders – put in charge by God of the people
C.
The Harvest (21:34-36)
1.
The fruits, the results of
God’s work in us are supposed to be given back to God
a.
Our children
b.
Our tithes
c.
Our plans
d.
Our successes and our failures
2.
But the workers thought only
of the profits – of what THEY could make from this deal
a.
God was taking care of them
b.
But they wanted it all
3.
But God sent servants to call
for the people to give back to God what belongs to Him (see Mt 22:17-21)!
a.
The servants were prophets and
preachers in the Old Testament
b.
Every time they were rejected
(Mt 23:34-39)
4.
God tried again and again –
that’s patience
5.
But the religious, the workers
rejected every call by God to do right and get right!
D.
God’s Best Attempt (21:37-39)
1.
The owner here had a Son!
2.
How can people NOT reverence,
worship my Son?
3.
This was God’s best attempt at
getting things fixed in His vineyard!
4.
It is what changed MY life –
damnation, condemnation, judgment, proving my sins and sinfulness could not
change me
5.
Only God’s SON could change my
situation!
6.
But as we know, this was a
prophetic story about the near future…
7.
The Pharisees saw the coming
of God’s Son as their best opportunity to retain control, and keep things like
they wanted – that’s the work of religion, not of God
8.
So they took the Son, and
dragged Him out of the vineyard and killed Him – just as they would do in a few
days when they crucified Jesus
E.
Due Justice (21:40,41)
1.
Now… no one
2.
This was the ultimate
injustice!
a.
The owner had done everything
right
b.
He had gone the extra miles
with the servants
c.
And even when they had killed
some of His servants, the owner finally sent His Son
d.
And they killed him like a
pig!
3.
So… what will the owner do
now?
a.
He will “miserably destroy
those wicked men” – these were the religious frauds, the Pharisees, the priests,
the people that did not serve God, but their own bellies
b.
He will replace them with
other servants, people that will serve the owner
4.
And everyone agrees, that he
would be RIGHT!
F.
Review the Comparisons of the
Parable – before we go on any
1.
The Owner is God
2.
The Vineyard is God’s
3.
The Workers are specially
called people that we would call “the religious” – the Pharisees, the priests,
the scribes, the religious lawyers… people who should have served God, but
instead got fat on what belonged to God
4.
The Harvest is every good
thing in our life – it belongs BACK in God’s hands: our blessings, children,
successes, knowledge, our very lives (Rom 12:1)
5.
The Servants sent by the Owner
are Prophets and Preachers who called for people to live for God and give God
what is His
6.
The Son of the Owner is Jesus
7.
The destruction of the
original labourers is the demoting of Judaism and the Old Testament and
replacing it with
III.
Jesus’ Message (Matthew 21:42-46)
A.
A Unique Prophecy (21:42)
1.
God is only concerned with how
we react to His Son
2.
That “stone” is the Rock of
Matthew 16:15-18, and of 1Cor 3:11
3.
We either stumble on it and
curse it, or we fall before it and bless it (1Pet 2:1-8)
4.
The “builders” are the
Pharisees, the kingdom builders who only want an empire in their name… and they
rejected Jesus as not good enough
5.
But GOD made Jesus the very
HEAD, they very highest and most prominent stone of all!
B.
A Serious Warning (21:43,44)
1.
You reject Christ, and reject
His leadership, you lose
2.
God knows you may
misunderstand preachers and messages
3.
But you cannot miss Jesus
Christ
C.
It’s Your Choice
1.
If the “stone” causes you to
stumble and fall… then GREAT!
2.
But of you try and ignore the
“Stone” and reject its place in your life (as Lord), then it will come and grind
you to powder (Dan 2:31-34; 41-45)
3.
It’s coming
4.
The antichrist will attempt to
set up “his” kingdom first on God’s world, but ultimately, the “STONE” that has
been rejected will come again
D.
The Penny Drops (21:45,46) –
1.
The Pharisees KNEW that Jesus
was talking about THEM and their attitude towards GOD
2.
And THEIR RESPONSE IS WHAT WE
NEED TO LEARN FROM
3.
They, instead of
IV.
The Main Truth (21:44)
A.
God cannot work with proud
people (James 4:6) God only Works with Broken People
1.
Mark 2:17
2.
Matthew 18:11
3.
Romans 5:6-8
B.
All people are proud people –
that’s how we are! No exceptions!
1.
What does pride mean here:
a.
Only going so far with God,
and no
b.
It stops you and I from
absolutely yielding to God no matter the cost
c.
We would rather worry about
the cost of following the Lord Jesus, than the cost of rebelling against it
d.
It is SELF-Importance
2.
We all are proud by nature –
just natural
3.
Not everyone shows it the same
way, but when pushed, we show our pride and reject obedience to God
4.
We must be taught the
importance of yielding
C.
Warning - Pride will destroy
you
1.
Psalm 119:21 – the proud are
cursed by God
2.
Psalm 73:6 – Pride will
enslave you in chains
3.
Prov 15:25 – Pride will
destroy your whole home
4.
Prov 16:18 – Pride is the
signal that destruction is coming, and a hard fall
D.
Everyone must be broken
1.
Pride does not yield, it must
be broken to be removed
2.
Pride does not work with
people, it only uses people, and has to be humiliated to be replaced
3.
Pride is the same as idolatry
and witchcraft (1Sam 15:23) and so must be repented of and hated
4.
If you don’t think that you
need to be broken, just look at the relationships that you have with other
people – if they are a mess, then you need to be broken. If people can’t show
you that you are proud, then you will
5.
But how do any of us conquer
our pride?
E.
Brokenness comes ONLY by
choice – not accidental, or automatic
1.
A choice to “be broken” … be
remade all over again!
2.
Allowing yourself to be
“tripped up” and brought low!
3.
Accepting yourself as proud,
as stubborn, as hard hearted
4.
Allowing God to
F.
Rebellion to God also comes
only by CHOICE – you cannot blame anyone else for how you act towards Jesus
1.
People don’t take God
seriously because they don’t think the Stone is coming (see Pharaoh’s attitude
towards the Lordship of Christ, Exod 10:3)
2.
It is a Stone of judgment
3.
Jesus is offering Himself as
your Saviour and Lord, but if He is rejected, He will be your Judge
4.
Christian, Jesus is your Lord…
follow Him, yield to Him… I plead with you, and ask you to humble yourself
G.
There are Serious Blessings of
Brokenness
1.
A whole new heart (Ezek 11:19)
2.
A load of respect
3.
A longer life
4.
Better sleep and rest
5.
God’s help – you have no help
from God without brokenness
V.
Final Questions…
A.
How do YOU normally react to
the commands in Scripture?
1.
Find it easy to ignore? The
Stone will come!
2.
Try and only go so far, but no
more? The Stone will come?
3.
Only do what will not
humiliate you? The Stone will crush you!
B.
How should you and I react?
1.
Crumble at the cross – what a
task!
2.
3.
Reject anything between you
and God, and between you and others that causes pride
4.
If there is pride, if you
think you have a better way of doing things than God, then be very afraid!
5.
Start asking God to take away
the hard, stony heart out of you and to give you the new heart, the soft heart,
and enjoy feeling once again!
6.
Sit down with people that you
have hurt and crumble before them! Ask their forgiveness
7.
And those of you who have been
hurt, you will
C.
Which is worth it more?
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |